Budget Percentage Calculator
| Category | Percentage (%) | Amount ($) |
|---|---|---|
✅ Step-by-Step Guide to Use the Budget Percentage Calculator
- Enter Your Total Monthly Budget
Type your total income or budget in the “Total Budget” input field. - Edit Budget Categories and Percentages
You can adjust or rename each category and change the percentage allocation. - Live Chart Preview
The pie chart updates in real-time as you modify categories and their respective percentages. - Check Total Allocation
Ensure the total equals 100%. A warning will show if it’s under or over-allocated. - Export Your Results
Use the Export CSV or Download PDF buttons to save your plan. - Reset Anytime
Click Reset All to clear and restart your budgeting process.
How the Budget Percentage Calculator Can Help Families
Utilizing the Budget Percentage Calculator can assist families in better understanding where their money is being spent, which will allow them to create a budget tailored specifically to their finances and needs.
Beginning by entering your monthly post-tax income. This could include wages and salaries, gig work or part-time jobs, bonuses, Social Security contributions, distributions and tips among other sources of revenue.
Getting Started
Budget calculators can be an invaluable way to track household expenses and meet savings goals, providing a powerful way of monitoring household expenditures and meeting savings goals. By entering your monthly, after-tax income into the calculator and then allocating it according to needs, wants, and savings goals, results will show how closely actual spending matches up with plans made earlier.
To use the budget planner, start by entering your net monthly income in the top box and for each category below, enter how much money you expect to spend in each row. Once completed, this calculator will evaluate which expenses occupy what percentage of your budget and show a pie chart that illustrates each area’s contribution towards overall spending.
Next, determine any additional sources of income that might exist such as side hustles, alimony or child support payments and add those amounts into the Income box.
Once you have an understanding of your monthly expenses, transition to the 50/30/20 budget method. This rule suggests allocating approximately 50% to necessities; 30% for items you would like but don’t necessarily need; and 20% on long-term financial goals like paying off debt or saving money. While you can use these percentages as guides, feel free to change them depending on what’s important for you.
Housing (25%). Whether renting or owning, enter your mortgage/rent payment here in this category of the budget calculator, along with any home insurance premiums, HOA fees or property taxes you pay.
Utilities (5%) — Include in this budget calculator category electric, gas, garbage collection service, water and internet service costs as well as any recurring home repair needs such as fixing leaky faucets or replacing worn-out carpeting.
Debit (0-25%) — Dave Ramsey advises allocating 10-25% of your budget toward paying down debt, so include this strategy into your plans. Use the debt snowball method for quick repayment.
Expenses
Expenses are the costs you accrue each month and year. From consistent bills such as mortgage or rent payments to more variable expenses like food and entertainment costs, it is vitally important that these expenses are accurately recorded within your budget plan so it works optimally.
Fixed expenses, those which remain relatively constant from month to month or year to year, are easy to calculate and may include housing, utility bills and food expenses. Other fixed expenses might include auto maintenance and insurance costs or entertainment such as movie or theater tickets, streaming services or club membership fees. If you’re not sure which of your costs fall into this category, make a list of your recurring expenditures, then track how often each item costs per item on that list; divide this total number of expenses by each expenditure item on that list for an averaged total cost for each expense item on that list.
Variable expenses tend to change frequently and can quickly derail a budget if they’re not carefully considered. Examples of variable expenses could include grocery and gasoline expenses, clothing and entertainment expenditures and debt payments like personal loans or credit card balances. To estimate these variable expenses accurately, take an average year over three or more years’ spending and divide that total by the total number of months for which an estimate can be calculated – then divide that estimate by 12 for an accurate monthly estimate.
This category encompasses your daily living expenses as a family, including child or adult day care, tutoring/lessons fees, charity donations and any related costs such as pet care/boarding fees/streaming and museum membership fees/personal grooming/shopping expenses etc. If you share a bank account with your spouse/partner be sure to include both their expenses when adding together their totals in this section.
This category covers any additional household expenses such as home improvement projects or furniture purchases, personal expenses not previously accounted for and home ownership association payments due annually as well as fees related to amenities at your community or condo complex. Also include your cable and TV bills here as well as any technology-related bills.
Savings
Your budget can help you save for an emergency fund, build retirement nest eggs or just make ends meet by showing how reducing small expenses adds up over time. A savings percentage calculator keeps you on the path toward short and long term financial goals.
This budget calculator uses Elizabeth Warren’s popular 50/30/20 rule–made famous by her book All Your Worth–to divide after-tax income into needs, wants, and savings accounts. Customize the default percentages as necessary to create an individual budget tailored specifically to your financial goals.
Enter your monthly gross income here, including wages and salaries as well as bonuses or commissions that you might earn. Also include any other supplementary sources of income (like alimony or child support) in this section. Don’t forget any recurring expenses like membership dues, insurance premiums, property taxes and utilities costs!
Many budgeters often neglect to include “cost of living” when creating their budget, yet this factor should be given due consideration. Utilizing a budget calculator can give insight into your expenses for groceries, entertainment and other day-to-day items so that you can cut unnecessary spending and save money in the process.
In general, experts advise spending no more than 15% of your monthly income on food expenses. Although it can be challenging to limit eating out, using a budget calculator can show you potential savings from cooking more meals at home and purchasing cheaper groceries.
Housing costs and utility bills typically comprise the bulk of living expenses. If you own your home, be sure to include its monthly mortgage payment in the housing expense box of your budget calculator; otherwise if renting, input your rent expense amount instead.
Other living expenses may include property tax and HOA fees if applicable, cable/TV/Internet subscription costs and phone/cell plans (utility expenses box of budget calculator), phone plans/cell plans with data plans as well as storage rental or parking fees depending on your specific circumstances.
Taxes
While only a minority of Americans list taxes as their top financial concern, this issue remains highly contentious. Gallup’s Economy and Personal Finance survey shows that eight out of 10 Democrats think upper-income taxpayers pay too little in taxes while only half as many independents share this view.
Taxes are the primary source of federal revenue, accounting for 19% of GDP in 2022. State and local taxes comprise 16%, along with fees such as property and vehicle taxes and payroll deductions for health insurance or retirement savings plans – these factors all can impact a household budget and its ability to save or spend.
Our budget calculator makes it easier for you to decide how to spend your after-tax income, including necessities, wants and debt reduction. Simply enter your monthly after-tax income and adjust the default percentages as necessary based on your goals – although note that any advice provided herein should only be seen as general guidance; please seek further professional advice if necessary for individual situations.